Easy Lobster Nachos With Corn And Cheesy Garlic Queso

Name: Epic Lobster Nachos With Corn And Cheesy Garlic Queso
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup sliced red onion (sweet white onion is fine too); 1/2 cup red wine vinegar; 1 tbsp butter (or olive oil or canola oil); 2 tbsp finely diced red onion; 1 clove garlic (minced); 1 tbsp finely diced jalapeño (or more to taste); 1/4 tsp old bay seasoning; 1/4 cup cream cheese; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 tbsp minced cilantro; 2 tsp lime juice; 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (medium or sharp cheddar cheese); 1/4 tsp each, salt and black pepper to taste; 8 cups tortilla chips (about 1 x 300 gram bag); 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese; 2 cups cooked lobster meat ((chunks or minced)); 1 cup corn (fresh or thawed from frozen); 1/2 cup diced red pepper; 1/2 cup slivered green onions; 1 sliced jalapeno *optional; extra cilantro, pickled onions, salsa and sour cream for garnish

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Last Updated on November 3, 2025 by Sabrina Currie

Ooey, gooey, crunchy and delicious, these easy lobster nachos with corn and cheesy garlic queso are SOOO yummy! Loaded with real lobster, sweet veggies and lobster shack-inspired queso sauce, they get baked with even more cheese on top. Quick pickled onions and cilantro top them off. These make a perfect game day appetizer or movie night snack. Plus they're ready in just 30 minutes! (Naturally gluten-free)

Creamy cheesy topped lobster nachos with pink pickled onions and cilantro on top and a bowl of salsa beside.

Why I Love This Recipe

First of all, I love juicy, sweet lobster and I love it with a creamy sauce. I love nachos and I think the pairing of sweet and savory, creamy and crispy is a match made in heaven.

Second, this is a really economical way to serve lobster. Of course you can buy a whole lobster just for this but you can also use leftover lobster or fresh tinned lobster meat. A tin will give you around 1 to 1 ½ cups, approximately the same amount as one whole large lobster or 2 medium lobster tails. That is enough to serve 4-6 people with this recipe. You can buy frozen chunks of lobster too.

My Pick

Cooked Lobster Claw, Knuckle & Leg Meat, 8 Oz (Frozen)

Buy Now

Love Tex-Mex and Baja style seafood recipes? I bet you'll also love these easy prawn tostadas, leftover steak tacos, Mexican shrimp cocktail (coctel de camarons), and my fave tuna ceviche.

Jump to:

Why I Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Substitutions + Variations
Step-by-Step Instructions
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
Pin It For Later
More Tasty Seafood Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Community

Recipe Ingredients

A few simple ingredients will transform into delicious creamy queso and lobster topped nachos for a fantastic movie night treat or luxe appetizer for friends. Oh, and you should also enjoy a Margarita, light beer or cold fruit slushie with these 😉

The ingredients for the recipe including a bag of tortilla chips, shredded cheese, cream, cream cheese, cilantro, onion, lobster meat, jalapeno and Old Bay seasoning.

Lobster - Lobster nachos are a great way to use up leftover lobster meat if you have it. Otherwise you can buy a precooked lobster, a live lobster and cook it yourself, or a tin of fresh lobster meat like I did here. If using the chopped lobster meat, dollop it in chunks over the nachos so you get big flavorful bites of it. (See the pictures below)
Cream Cheese - You can use plain or add a little extra flavor with herb and garlic cream cheese.
Jalapenos - Use as many or as little as you like. I highly recommend using at least some in the queso because the spice level mellows and it adds that Mexican flavor that queso needs.

See recipe card for quantities.

A bowl of nachos topped with bright pink pickled onions, lobster chunks, diced red pepper, cilantro and sliced jalapeno. The recipe title, 'lobster nachos' is in large print above.

Substitutions + Variations

Seafood - Swap out the lobster for an equal amount of cooked and shelled shrimp, prawns or crab meat. Yummm!
Tostadas - Similar but make these on individual tostadas for an appetizer or dinner.
Garlic - Garlic pairs well with lobster. I've gone light but if you are a garlic lover, go ahead and use 2 or even 3 garlic cloves in the sauce.
Dip - I've suggested salsa (fresh pico de gallo or jarred) and sour cream but guacamole or this avocado tomatillo salsa are other great dips for these.
Disney California adventure park - You can get lobster nachos at Disneyland. To make yours like theirs, sprinkle over 1 cup of black beans and 1 cup of diced fresh tomatoes before adding the lobster and sauce. They bake theirs with less cheese as well, so you can reduce the amount of mozzarella by half if you like.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Don't be daunted by all the steps, I just wanted to walk you through it easily. The pickled onions and queso can be made up to a day ahead, just bring them back to room temperature when ready to use. You may need to gently warm the queso cheese sauce just a little to make it pourable.

Preheat your oven to 400°F so it's hot and ready when you've finished assembling the nachos.

Rounds of sliced red onion in a bowl with red wine vinegar being poured in.

Step 1. Slice onions into thin rounds and top with vinegar.

Bowl of sliced onions submerged in vinegar.

Step 2. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the fridge. Drain well before using so the nachos stay crisp.

Diced onion and jalapeno frying in a pot.

Step 3. Melt butter and fry the onion, garlic and jalapeno on medium heat until the onion is translucent, then stir in the Old Bay spice.

Cream and cilantro added to the fried veggies in the pot.

Step 4. Add the cream cheese, cream and cilantro, whisk until it's hot and well mixed together, then add the fresh lime juice and whisk again.

Shredded cheddar cheese added to the cream mixture.

Step 5. Sprinkle cheese over, stir once and immediately remove from the heat. Wait 1-2 minutes to let the cheese melt before gently stirring it all together until blended. Taste and season if needed with salt and pepper.

Tray of tortilla chips with a light sprinkle of cheese over top.

Step 6. Layer nachos on a baking sheet (line it with parchment of aluminum foil if you like, for easy cleanup) and top with a small amount of mozzarella cheese to help all the ingredients stay put on the chips.

Diced red pepper and green onion sprinkled over the tortilla chips.

Step 7. Sprinkle half of the chopped veggies over.

Dollops of minced lobster meat scattered over the chips and vegetables.

Step 8. The spoon half of the lobster evenly around the tortilla chips.

Step 9. Drizzle with half the queso.

The layered tortilla chips are topped with grated mozzarella cheese.

Step 10. Top with shredded cheese and slices of fresh jalapeno pepper if using, then repeat steps 6 through 10 for a second layer. Pop in the oven and bake until the cheesy lobster nachos are golden brown and bubbly.

Baked nachos with melty cheese topped with pickled onions and chopped cilantro.

Step 11. Remove from oven and top with the pickled onions and cilantro. Serve right away with salsa and sour cream if you like.

Expert Tips

Use good quality lobster. It should taste good whether it's fresh or thawed. If you can't find good lobster meat, use shrimp, prawns or crab instead. Bad seafood is no one's friend.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use frozen lobster?

Yes, just thaw the lobster and gently squeeze out any excess liquid before using.

Can I use imitation lobster meat?

Yes, absolutely. Of course it won't be quite the same but still very delicious.

Are these gluten-free?

If made as per the recipe, these are gluten-free. Be sure to read the label on your tortilla chips and if you use imitation lobster meat, check that label as well to ensure you choose gluten-free products.

Pin It For Later

Save this recipe for easy lobster nachos with corn and cheesy garlic queso to Pinterest for next time or share it with your friend on Facebook!

Jalapeno and cilantro topped lobster nachos.

More Tasty Seafood Recipes

See more Seafood →

If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.

Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.

Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina